Producer, lyricist, and composer Frankie Beverly was born Howard Beverly on December 6, 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was raised in the city’s East Germantown neighborhood. As a child, he began singing gospel music in a local church and was featured as a soloist. Beverly began singing with The Silhouettes at the age of 13 in 1959, and by the age of 16, he had formed The Blenders, an A cappella, doo-wop group. In 1964, he graduated from Germantown High School. Beverly changed his first name to honor Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the R&B doo-wop icon.
Beverly founded Maze in Philadelphia in 1970 and served as its lead vocalist. The group was originally called Raw Soul, and they were the touring backup band for R&B legend Marvin Gaye, who insisted on the name change. In 1971, Beverly moved to San Francisco, California.
Beverly appeared in a handful of Maze’s hit songs in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Maze starring Frankie Beverly, the group’s debut album, was released in 1976 and went gold, selling over 500,000 copies. The album included the single “While I’m Alone,” which reached number 21 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Feel That You’re Feelin’,” from the 1979 album Inspiration, peaked at number seven on the R&B list, while “Southern Girl,” from the album Joy and Pain, peaked at number nine on the R&B chart in 1980.
“Running Away” peaked at no.55 R&B on the 1981 album Live in New Orleans, and “Before I Let Go” peaked at no.13 R&B. Four years later, in 1985, “Too Many Games” from Can’t Stop the Love reached number five on the R&B chart, while “Back In Stride” reached number 88 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Can’t Get Over You” peaked at no. 59 on the R&B chart in 1989, while “Love’s On the Run” and “Songs of Love” from Silky Soul (1990) peaked at no. 13 and 37 on the R&B chart, respectively.
Beverly’s song “Hustler’s Ambition” from the 50 Cent film Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was nominated for a Satellite Award for “Outstanding Original Song” in 2005.
Beverly was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards in Los Angeles, California in 2012. In 2019, he performed at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans for the 2019 Essence Festival.
Frankie Beverly, the father of one son, Anthony Beverly, and three grandchildren, has five gold records.